Sparked by her own teachers, Abilene ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year seeks to inspire

Rachel Carlisle talks about her classroom in a video announcing her being chosen Abilene Education Foundation's Elementary Teacher of the Year
Video courtesy of Rob Westman, Abilene Education Foundation

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Rachel Carlisle, a third-grade teacher at Lee Elementary School, listens as De'Asia McNeil works out an answer during a lesson with small groups in the classroom Thursday.(Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News)Buy Photo

Rachel Carlisle always knew she wanted to be a teacher. At least, she has from a young age.

For her, the calling came first after completing fourth grade in San Antonio, where she grew up. That year, she was forced to address some deficiencies in her writing in order to pass a standardized test.

They worked hard, she and the teacher, preparing her to pass the exam. She took that "can-do attitude" her teacher instilled in her and adopted it for herself while studying at Abilene Christian University, coupling it with her own love for learning to become one of Lee Elementary School's top educators.

"I love learning," she said. "I love being a student. To be able to come in to work and teach these children to also love learning, that's special."

After four years at Lee, including the last three teaching third grade, Carlisle earned recognition from the Abilene Education Foundation last month when she was named Elementary Teacher of the Year in the Abilene Independent School District.

She said the moment her video began playing at the Abilene Country Club, informing her and the rest of the attendees of the Teachers in the Limelight Celebration that she was the winner, she was shocked.

But she also knew she was deserving.

In teaching, everyone has a favorite subject or topic to cover. At the elementary level, teachers handle multiple subjects for their students as they create a base level of understanding that can be expanded on or mastered at higher levels.

Carlisle's favorite may be a bit shocking. She's actually a fan of those reading and writing courses, the ones she struggled with in her own time, and isn't afraid to celebrate them.

"Math was always my favorite subject growing up," she said. "But the reading and writing courses are something I just get excited about. I love when a student gets a new book they enjoy and they come up to share it with me."

At third grade, she said, the students often start with picture books. Watching their progress as they pick up more and more difficulty and conquer it all makes her proud.

And that favorite class growing up isn't forgotten, either. She still enjoys teaching math, but she finds a way to bring other subjects into the learning, a concerted effort to bridge subject divides.

Like one recent lesson, for example, dealing with measurements. The students made lemonade (science) and developed a how-to paper (writing) to go through step-by-step.

"All day long, we're making connections between subjects," Carlisle said.

She's also a believer in social learning, where the students are grouped together bouncing ideas off of one another and forming connections not just with the material, but also with each other.

She's also always making changes to her lessons, too. It's part of any teacher's approach, she said.

"Every year, you think about what worked and what didn't," she said. "And then you adapt it to the new group of students."